"I knew her first throw could be very good or very bad," says Egger. "She had a lot of pressure. It was not so easy. This was the first time that Kirsten was in the stadium - but not with her. I spoke about that with Valerie - I noticed she had a little problem with that. It was interesting to see that she could overcome all those odds. She knew exactly what she had to do."
Adams started slowly and looked vulnerable early on. She managed 19.37m to be third after the first round, before fouling in the second. Meanwhile, Hellier's new charge Ling Li hurled 19.71m to take the lead.
Adams then found her range with 20.04m to go top. Familiar rival Nadzeya Ostapchuk was in touch at 19.87m, around a clutch of contenders, but Adams blasted 20.72m with her fourth effort before her final round humdinger. Her power has always been unquestioned but Egger has focused on technique, resulting in Adams feeling the "most confident technically" she has ever felt at a major event.
"It's a good sign when you make your best performances at the big events," says Egger. "I had the same situation with Werner Gunthor [1987, 1991 and 1993 world champion]. It comes from the planning and prioritisation of training."
Adams' winning margin of 1.19m (Ostapchuk recorded 20.05m for second) was the biggest in the history of the event at the world championships, which started in 1983. It was also larger than any previous winning margin at the Olympics, dating back to 1948 when women's shot put was first introduced. The margin was equivalent to winning the 100m by 5.6m (maybe possible for Usain Bolt, but no one else), the 400m by 22m or the 1500m by 84m.
So how far can Adams throw? Can she break the 22m barrier and maybe get close to the 'impossible' world record of 22.63m?
"It's a difficult question," admits Egger. "If you asked me a few years ago, I would say that 22m would be possible. But now it depends on the [impact] of 10 years of hard training; I don't know how much more hard training she can do. If she is able to throw many times over 21, I can speak of 22 - but not before."
Egger explains that Adams has centred a lot of her training around weightlifting - which she is suited to - but he has introduced a more athletic approach.
"My philosophy is based on a lot of plyometric training - which is easier to do when you are a younger athlete," says Egger. "The most important thing is the motivation. If her fire and [desire] remains as big as it is now, she can make many good results."
Natalya Lisovskaya's world record of 22.63m, set in Moscow in 1987, has long been seen as a mythical, almost unapproachable mark. Eleven of the 22 current world records in the women's Olympic track and field events were set between 1985 and 1988. Most of the athletes came from the Soviet Union, as well as the late American sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner and, though nothing has ever been proven, suspicions of steroid use swirl around these records.
Egger, who retired as a 37-year-old after the 1980 Moscow Olympics, was reticent about the validity of Lisovskaya's record.
"I know this period very well and I know what happened," says Egger. "I can only say it was another time and the athletes had a lot of support. Back then, there was no [doping] control - Val has been tested six times since April - and there were some practices that made the performance easier. Valerie's results of today is as good as the best result until now."
Last month, Adams described the big sacrifices she had made in relocating to Switzerland, to live in a one-room apartment in a spartan training academy.
"It is a big commitment but you gotta do what you gotta do," she told the Herald on Sunday. "I'm not getting any younger and I have to make the most out of what I have got."
After dazzling in Daegu, Adams looks to be on the right path to defend her Olympic gold. If she does, the 26-year-old will be just the second woman in shot put history to do so which, with her world titles, would arguably make her the greatest exponent of all time.
